Politics

House Speaker Brian Egolf Shares Priorities For 2020 Legislative Session In Opening Remarks Tuesday

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Speaker of the House Brian Egolf opens the 30-Day Session of the 54th New Mexico Legislature Tuesday at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com.

NMDP News:

SANTA FE — Speaker of the House Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe) opened the 30-Day Session of the 54th New Mexico Legislature Tuesday with remarks asserting House priorities for the 2020 Legislative Session.

Focused on passing a responsible budget that continues investing and uplifting a generation from poverty through education, House Democrats are also committed to securing a better future through economic diversification Read More

Military & Veterans Day At The Legislature Jan. 25

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DVS News:

SANTA FE — Military & Veterans Day at the 2020 Legislature is this Saturday, Jan. 25, at the State Capitol in downtown Santa Fe.

This is the annual day during the legislative session presented by the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services (DVS) and the New Mexico National Guard to honor active-duty service members and veterans. 

Every year, a segment of the military is also highlighted at a noon ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. This year, the spotlight will be on former Prisoners of War (POW’s) and those still listed as Missing in Action (MIA).

The public is invited to join in this Read More

Governor Issues Second State Of State Address

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Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham enters the House Chamber this afternoon at the Roundhouse to deliver her State of the State Address. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham delivers her State of the State Address this afternoon before a joint session of the House and Senate at the State Capitol. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

From the Office of the Governor:

SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued her second annual State of the State address today at the Roundhouse.

The governor launched the second session of the 54th New Mexico Legislature with a speech

Read More

New Mexico Counties Push For Jail, Sheriff Funding

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By AMANDA MARTINEZ

New Mexican

An organization that represents New Mexico county governments is pushing the state Legislature to increase reimbursements to counties for the rising costs of transporting state prisoners and providing behavioral health care to state inmates housed in county jails and youth centers.

The Santa Fe-based nonprofit New Mexico Counties is seeking a more than $6 million increase to the County Detention Facility Reimbursement Fund, which now stands at $2.3 million a year.

State law allows county sheriff’s offices to charge the state per diem and mileage expenses Read More

Ribe: Bandelier National Park? Here’s The Problem…

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By TOM RIBE

Executive Director

Caldera Action

Sen. Martin Heinrich recently introduced a bill in Congress to re-designate Bandelier National Monument as national park.

It is hard to see how this bill benefits either the public or Bandelier.

On its face, this may sound like a bill to give Bandelier more protection, but if this bill passes, I believe it will damage Bandelier’s land and cultural features and diminish the authority of Bandelier’s National Park Service managers.

Sen. Heinrich does many good things for our state and the country and he means well with this bill. His goal is to increase Read More

Governor, Staff Gear Up For State Of State Address

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Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham

By MICHAEL GERSTEIN

New Mexican

On the roughly eight-hour flight from Chicago to Dublin, Ireland, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s speechwriter and top communications staffer started a draft of what will be her second annual address to the Legislature.

Six hours and 6,000 words later, Tripp Stelnicki closed his laptop and braced himself to meet his sister’s fiancé in Ireland.

Since then, Stelnicki said, the document has run the gantlet, viewed and honed by the governor’s chief of staff, John Bingaman, senior adviser Dominic Gabello and the governor Read More

54th Annual Legislative Session Begins Noon Today

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Legislative Roundup:

The New Mexican

Days remaining in session: 30

In the beginning: The 54th annual legislative session begins at noon today at the state Capitol on the corner of Paseo de Peralta and Old Santa Fe Trail.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is scheduled to give her State of the State address outlining her initiatives on the floor of the House of Representatives, though that event generally occurs later in the afternoon.

Musical political chairs: The Senate’s Committee on Committees meets at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Room 326 to discuss assignments. Members will choose a successor for Sen. Read More

New Mexico Congressional Delegation Makes Requests Regarding PFAS And Plan For Next Steps

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CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper requesting that the Department of Defense’s (DoD) release a plan for next steps to ensure New Mexican communities and dairy farms in close proximity to Cannon Air Force Base receive access to a clean water supply and a reimbursement of incurred filtration expenses.

The delegation also requested DoD work on plans to purchase Read More

Marco Serna Releases Education Position Paper

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By MARCO SERNA

Candidate for Congress

District 3

“Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world,” Nelson Mandela said.

More than anytime in history, we must heed his advice and make basic changes to our education system if we are going to maintain our economic and moral leadership around the world. 

The United States entered the 21st Century as the world’s sole superpower. We had the third-largest population with 327 million people, the largest economy and the second-largest higher-education system.

As recently as 20 years ago, the United States was ranked No. Read More

Nation Observes Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Today

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President Ronald Reagan signs the MLK holiday into law in 1983 as King’s wife Coretta Scott King watches at left. Courtesy/wikipedia.com

Martin Luther King Jr.

Staff Report

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.

It is observed on the third Monday of January each year. King’s birthday is Jan. 15. The holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The earliest Monday for this holiday is Jan. 15 and the latest is Jan. Read More